The purpose of this meeting is to convene international experts to present, discuss, evaluate and assess the most recent research and information concerning the possible effects of long-term, low-level exposure to manganese. This conference will bring together experts from academia, government agencies, foundations, the private sector and industry to discuss what is known, identify information gaps, and help define future directions for research. This conference of international experts and active researchers will provide information to draw upon and apply to important scientific/environmental/regulatory/risk assessment issues. All papers will be peer. reviewed and rapidly published in an international scientific journal that is widely disseminated, indexed and abstracted.